The First to Fall
by lookcloserhere
Summary: Éponine dies upon the Barricade, or does she? Enjolras, the leader of the revolution comes to her aid to save her from death's clutches... And she for him.
1. She Will Not Die in Vain

Éponine was gone. The light ahead seemed new and different, nice compared to what she was leaving behind. The destruction and despair of the revolution. Where was he now? Her beloved? Still holding her body or was he lying dead on the ground?

The pain seemed to be subsiding... Slipping away with what was left of the grime and death. Éponine let her worries go, let Marius go. 'God let him be safe. Let them all be safe. Gavroche, Courfeyrac, Joly, Grantaire, Jean, Enjolras...'  
Thinking of Enjolras his voice seemed to be floating to her now as she wandered towards peace...

"The first to fall... Éponine. Hold on."

Hold on? Éponine tried to focus on this comment but gave up feebly when her brain seemed to float away.  
Somewhere in the darkness she could feel herself being lifted, in the rushing in her ears she could tell the gunfire had ceased. And then Enjolras' voice swarmed into her brain again.

"Éponine, stay with me." Stay? Where? She was far to gone, her past memories of her childhood playing in her head.  
As if she was coming back a little she could feel herself being placed onto something hard and flat.

"Éponine, 'Ponine... Don't go now. Stick with my voice." The calming light started to fade, Eponine seemed to be going backwards. The pain that had subsided had started to return, this time harsher and longer. She was still floating but the roaring in her ears was gone and she could hear someone bustling about around her.  
And then a pain she had never experienced, not even when she was shot, rain through her body. A cry came from deep within her as the searing intensified.

"Sorry, Éponine. It'll be over soon I promise." Enjolras... What was he doing? Was he trying to save her?

"It's pointless, Monsieur." She whispered, her voice barely audible.

"It's pointless, Monsieur." Enjolras could barely hear her voice, he knew she was almost gone. He grabbed the wrappings from the hiding place behind the dresser, it was meant for himself if he needed it, but she deserved it more.  
She was sweating, blood slowly falling to the ground, her dark hair matted against her forehead. He had to stop the bleeding now. Roughly stringing a medical needle he stole from a lady down the street. He ran it through a candle fire for a few seconds to rid it of any germs. Éponine was gasping, none of her vital organs seemed to be harmed so there wasn't any major threat... He just had to sew her up. He was never good with sewing.

"'Ponine? I have to sew you up now. It's going to hurt, I'm sorry. I'll make it quick I promise, just please stay with me." Enjolras' hands shook, he wished he had someone there with him, a girl who could sew, a drink. Éponine moaned and rolled to her side, the blood flow quickened and Enjolras rushed to push her back.

"You have to stay put 'Ponine."

"It's pointless, Monsieur." Éponine breathed again, her eyes scrunched tight.

"Monsieur... I always listened to your words..." Her breath shuddered. She was cold now, a sure sign that soon she would be gone. He was surprised she had lasted this long, he had taken her from Marius and waited until the boys were sleeping and wouldn't notice his absence. She had lay motionless throughout, he had only realized she was alive when she uttered something as he came to move her away from Marius.

He would have taken her sooner if he had known she was still alive.  
The realization surprised him, he had always felt a connection to the girl. She was a fighter, and poor, yes, a Thenardier... But she was different. And her love for Marius...  
Enjolras shoved the needle into her flesh and prayed to God she would last the night.

The next few nights for Éponine were the roughest she'd ever had. She was warm for once, something she couldn't account for in the winter. But the pain she had experienced (though of a less degree), still raged on in her body.  
Her vision came and went, mostly in her conscious hours she lay with her eyes shut in a fairly comfortable bed, she could hear voices and occasionally Enjolras would ask if she was okay to which she would mumble a barely audible "I'm alright, need to sleep." And then feign sleeping until she felt he was resting again himself.

She would peek glances at him when she thought he was sleeping, only once he had caught her staring and she pretended that she was in a far off place and just looking in his direction.

She was trying to figure him out. Why had he saved her? She had listened to his speeches and watched him in the Café as he drank with Marius and the rest of the group.  
They were all gone now. Even Enjolras had a brush with death. He had gone back out into the fight when he knew she would be able to last the night. The fight had been lost, and he had been caught. He was shot in the shoulder, and pretended to be dead. He ran away when the coast was clear, planning to gather up a few remaining resistance.

When Éponine heard of this in her frail stupor told him not to go. She begged for him to stay, telling him she needed him, and the resistance needed to recover before they would be able to fight again. He agreed and stayed.

They had moved from their earlier place, now on the outskirts in a small flat on the third floor, Enjolras had carried her up the steps, carefully avoiding the wound he had sewn. They had moved in case the Police went looking for him, as the starter of the Rebellion he had a price on his head, especially since his body had disappeared.

"'Ponine?" Enjolras' voice pulled Eponine out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Enjolras?" They had started using first names since the first night, Enjolras was the first one to break the ice, but since they had known each other before the revolution it only seemed right to do so. It felt rude otherwise.

"Dinner, we have bread and some meat. Would you like it now or later?" Éponine opened her eyes, her stomach rumbled in response and Enjolras chuckled. Éponine liked it when he laughed. For a minute it seemed like nothing had happened, the revolution was still a thing waiting to start, and they were just friends who knew each other by  
aquatiance.

"Should I bring it over to you?" He asked, holding the wooden plate and the food in his hands.

"No, I'll come over there." Éponine got gingerly to her feet, she had been practicing walking but many movements caused her wound to burn, and she had t walked for a while so her body was weak.

They had moved pieces of furniture around so she could grab onto them if needed, gradually, Eponine made it to the small wooden table in the left corner of the room.

There was only a bed in the room, it was a double, but since Eponine had nearly died she got to sleep on it. There was a cushioned arm chair that Enjolras slept in at night.  
The food was good, more than good. Eponine was hungry and this food was amazing compared to what she was used to... Sometimes days on end she wouldn't get any food at all.

"I saw Marius today." Enjolras said, Éponine looked up quickly from her plate.

"Did you-"

"No. I kept to the shadows, it's best for him to think that I'm gone." Enjolras looked down, a slight pained look crossing his face.

"We've lost, 'Ponine."  
He looked up at her, defeat written all over his features. She suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.

"We haven't lost everything, not yet. They'll have to claw it from our bare hands." She smiled sadly, her thoughts straying back to Marius.  
"Was he okay?"

Enjolras nodded, he put down the bread in his hands and took a swig from his drink.

"He was with Cosette." Éponine made a strangled snort, looking down at her plate again. Cosette, of course.

"Éponine, I'm so sorry." His statement shocked her a bit, but she still looked at her plate. Not sure if it would be okay of she looked up.

"What for?"

"You loved him." She laughed sadly, smiling reminiscently.

"Some things are not meant to be. We were not meant to be." Enjolras got up from his seat and walked to her, bending down so they would be eye to eye.

"You deserve someone, 'Ponine... Someone who will be there for you." Eponine looked right into his eyes, the striking intensity locked her there.

"So do you." There was a moment of silence and then Eponine was unable to stand the moment anymore. "Did you have anyone, Enjolras? Anyone you loved?"

Enjolras laughed a bit, but it wasn't the laugh like before, it was empty and full of regret.

"I did once, but she fell in love with someone else."

"Then we are one in the same aren't we, Enjolras?" He chuckled, it was more of a release of air from his lungs. She had not known that about him, and now she was seeing him in a completely different light. Éponine suddenly realized that he probably knew how she had felt, had... Not 'did' anymore.

"How are you feeling today, Éponine?" He asked, changing the subject completely. Éponine was relieved, though she wanted to know more about the girl he once loved, now was not the time.

"Much better. I think my wounds might be nearly healed now!" She said this to brighten up the mood in the room, it was feeling a bit too sad.  
Enjolras grinned, standing up and looking down at her.

"Let me see." He held out his hand to help her back to the bed. It wasn't as awkward- him checking her wounds- when she was under and not really knowing what was going on. But now that she was fully conscious it had gotten slightly heightened. Though she tried to ignore it the feeling that she may start to like this Enjorlas was nagging at her, and being only in her night clothes around him didn't help at all.

Enjolras turned away as she stripped down and climbed into the sheets of the bed. As she did so the whole feeling in the room seemed to intensify. She moved the blankets so that her wounds were showing and then whispered; "Ready."

"Ready." She whispered. He turned to look at her, suddenly aghast at her beauty. He had never seen it before until then, but as the light hit her she looked almost completely different. And she was right, her wounds were nearly healed, much to his relief. He walked over and examined them more closely. If only Joly were there to tell him how he had done, how she was...

"They look great, Éponine." He smiled, she smiled back, and then did something extremely daring. She got out of bed. She still had clothes on but it was far less than usual, she was looking at him peculiarly.

"Your turn." She said, he nodded, removing his shirt. He was still watching her, amazed at her nerve. And again amazed at how wonderful she looked. Her long dark hair had gotten longer, flowing down her back. Although she was skinny he had managed to fatten her up a bit, and that pleased him greatly. She was way too skinny.

"Enjolras, have you been using your arm too much again?" She scolded, " I told you those books can wait, you're not to lift things." He hated being told what to do, but he knew she was right. Late one night he had gone back to his flat to grab a few more things they left behind. The building was abandoned so he didn't have to worry about being seen. He had brought them back and was reading them in secret in the middle of the night.

"You really shouldn't do that." She murmured. He felt guilty, he wanted to please her. Her opinion mattered to him, and not just because they were living together. He wanted her to be happy. He couldn't stand the thought of her being sad anymore.

"Bed." He said, she frowned at his sudden conversation changer but nodded in agreement.

That was the night she had her first nightmare.


	2. They Will Live Again in Freedom

It started around midnight. Enjolras had been sleeping soundly in the chair for the first time in a long while. He had been feigning sleep to keep a watch on Éponine, make sure she was okay.

Her strangled cry woke him, she had thrown the sheets from the bed. Her brow was furrowed in worry. He felt a pang in his heart. She was murmuring franctically, he caught a few words... "Gavroche, Joly, Marius..." He thought she might have calmed down when she nearly screamed his name.

Enjolras was up in a flash in shock. She had just called for him, the ego inside him fluttered a bit... She was dreaming about him.

Worry overtook him then, and he walked over to her, pulling the sheets back onto the bed. "Éponine," he murmured quietly she let out another strangled cry. He couldn't take it anymore, she had been looking better, healthier. This nightmare degraded her back to the small, frail and starving girl she had been in her last hours with Marius.

"Éponine!" He called, touching her shoulder as to wake her. She jumped with a start, nearly flying out of bed. One look at him and she was reduced to tears. She clung on to him, her body shaking uncontrollably.

"I saw their deaths, Enjolras... Even the ones I hadn't seen before."  
Enjolras looked down at the girls broken body, her dark hair a mess from being in bed. Her eyes were swollen a bit and red, tears still streaming down her face.

"Oh, 'Ponine." He whispered, raw pain surging through him. They sat there for a while. Him holding onto her as she cried, whispering slightly to herself and slightly to him. He knew how she was feeling. He had started to have nightmares too. Countless times he watched his friends die. In different ways each night, tortured, shot, bleeding to death, burning alive... It was horrific. That was why he didn't like to sleep while she was awake. He was just relieved she hadn't heard him scream.

"Enjolras?" She asked, her voice small and weak, like a child before bed.

"Yes, 'Ponine?" He murmured, stroking her hair, it was smooth under his touch.

"Will you please stay with me tonight? I-I can't face this alone." Fresh tears had sprung into her eyes, the brown glistening. He took a minute to consider, but how could he just let the poor girl suffer alone? So Enjolras nodded, letting her climb back under the sheets and he followed. She was still shaking but she seemed a bit calmer now that he was there. Her small body wrapped in his he closed his eyes, he hated seeing her like this, he could imagine what her brain was creating in her head. Praying for a better tomorrow they fell asleep, no longer dreaming.

Eponine woke with a start, surprised to find Enjolras hadn't moved from the night before. Slight embarrassment engulfed her as she remembered what had happened. How weak she must have looked begging him to sleep with her. But he had, and he still was. His strong arms wrapped around her protectively.

She realized she didn't mind it at all, his presence made her feel safe, and the moment he had said yes to her pleading she knew she would be alright. She hadn't dreamed at all, just slept pleasantly.

The morning sun filled the flat with light, and a bird chirped out the window. Enjolras was sleeping soundly, his breathing relaxed. It calmed her knowing he was asleep for once, but she had never felt more refreshed. She felt that she could walk again, maybe even take to the streets, if it weren't that at the moment she was locked in Enjolras' steel grip.

Smiling to herself and letting go of the embarrassment, Eponine decided that the day could wait, and closed her eyes to sleep a bit more.

It was near noon before Enjolras stirred shaking Eponine out of her  
slumber. He still hadn't moved, his warm body snuggled close to hers.

"Good morning, 'Ponine." He said, his voice slightly amusing. She could feel her cheeks blushing slightly as he moved his arms to release her slightly.

"Merde!" He exclaimed with a laugh, "My arms are asleep!" Eponine couldn't help but giggle as she moved away from him and watched as he struggled to sit up. He finally gave up, lying back onto the pillows with a huff.

"Should I make breakfast?" She asked, looking around them. "And...  
Clean up a bit?" The room had gone into a bit of disrepair, books that Enjolras had snuck into the place laid stacked in corners, papers lay on the table and their dinner from the night before still sat on the table forgotten.

Enjolras looked around the room, feebly stretching his fingers trying to get feeling into them, she could hear them crack in protest. His mouth pulled into a pout, puffing out air from his lungs.

"Do we have to?" He asked, Eponine looked at him with reproach.

"Yes." She said, raising her eyebrows in finality. Enjolras' arms must have finally listened to him because he slowly sat up, letting the sheets fall away from his chest. He only wore the thin white shirt that usually was under a vest and his jacket.

"We can't just let it go...?" He asked, looking around the room again. Eponine laughed.

"What? And end up tripping over your books? I think not, besides... We need something to do. We can't just sit here and do nothing for the rest of our lives." She said, Enjolras frowned at the thought of cleaning but nodded. Shooing Enjolras out of the bed, Eponine felt a bit relieved. Happy to know that she wasn't alone in her suffering. The nightmares had been horrible, they were hard to even think about.

"Enjolras?" She asked tentatively, he turned around to look at her, his blue eyes showing a bit of concern.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Thank you, for last night." He gave her a kind smile, a smile she hadn't had anyone give her in a long time. The last person who had smiled that way had been Marius.

"Of course. I know how it feels, it's not something to go through alone."


	3. Every Day

Eponine had fluttered around the flat, cleaning everything in her sight. She had made Enjolras sit, telling him that he needn't move around to much since his wounds were still healing. He tried to use the same excuse for her but she blew him off, saying she felt twenty times better and she "simply didn't care."

She did look a lot better. Her walking was still a bit labored but she had a spring in her step he hadn't seen before. She was even humming a song quietly when she worked.

The day passed quickly, Enjolras realizing halfway through that he didn't mind not doing anything, he was just as happy being in the room with her. Eponine Thenardier.

At the end of the day when the light started to fade he rose, Eponine had finished cleaning a while before and had picked up one of his books. She was looking through it carefully, her eyebrows furrowed, a wrinkle in the middle from concentration.

"Eponine." He said, she looked up. The fading light causing shadow on one side of her face. She looked so beautiful, and he was surprised how many times he had thought that over the past twenty four hours.

"Would you care to join me on a walk?" He asked, a smile grew onto her face, almost bringing light into the room.

"Why of course!" She said laughing, a peculiar look on her face. "Are you sure you're up for it?" She asked, almost as an afterthought. He nodded.

"We need to get out of this place for a bit, I'm getting sick of it." It was true, the place had become extremely dull. Every paper, book, crack in the wall was boring. Old.

"Okay then." She practically jumped from the seat, beaming still. He laughed too, taking ahold of her hand and pulling her from the room. The stairs were rickety but still useable and they nearly waltzed down them. Each just happy to be there, to be alive, to be leaving the boredom of their flat. Their flat.

Of course it was their flat. They had moved in together. How could it not be? He beamed almost to himself at the thought, wondering if she had come to think the same thing.  
-

Eponine liked the feeling of his hand in hers. It was strong, protective. She liked his hand on her hip as she trampled down the staircase, nearly falling out of the rush to get out of the building. She liked his laugh as they both tripped on the last step, one right after the other, ready to breathe in fresh air. She liked him, she realized, as they finally caught the first scent of the night.

"Wow." He whispered, looking around. Wow was right. In the time it had taken to recover it was as if the whole of France changed without them knowing. In the time of a night, almost. Banners seemed to hang out of every window on their street. The flag, some blood red, others looking hand-made.

They were everywhere, children ran around the ground, playing. Mothers and fathers smiled as they watched. It was near nighttime and the street was as busy as ever.

"Look." She whispered back, smiling as a kid- obviously homeless- fell and was helped up by a policeman. She could hear Enjolras breathe out next to her, his grip on her hand tightening.

"Come on," he murmured, leading her towards the river. She held onto his arm with her other hand, letting her head rest on his shoulder. This was easy. Easier than anything she had ever felt. How did she not realize this before? Of course Marius was the answer, he was always the answer.

The water was smooth and calm, falling beneath their feet as they walked along the bridge in silence, happy to just be there in the moment. A bird called in the distance, reminding her of that morning... Seeming so long ago now.

"Enjolras, can you promise me something?" She asked, a spur of the moment.

"Yes, 'Ponine?" He asked, turning to face her. He looked so beautiful to her, amazing and kind and so beautiful.

"Never leave me again." She whispered. His eyes widened a bit in shock but then he smiled. She was risking her heart, her heart being broken. She was asking him to be with her, to stay with her. It seemed an easy thing to commit to. But knowing him and his ways she knew it wasn't. He was determined for his Patria to win the battle. Determined to fight for his country.

He captured her jaw in his free hand, staring deep into her eyes with a sort of passion. It took him a while to answer.

"As long as you promise to never leave me." He whispered back, before pressing the sweetest kiss upon her lips.


End file.
